White Collar Recap: Did Neal Find the Diamond? Was Rebecca Captured?

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Jan 30, 2014 at 12:01 AMJan 30, 2014 at 10:00 PM

[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Thursday's White Collar season finale. Read at your own risk!] Like pretty much every White Collar season finale before it, the USA crime caper's fifth season wrapped up most of the season's biggest ...

TV Guide

[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Thursday's White Collar season finale. Read at your own risk!]

Like pretty much every White Collar season finale before it, the USA crime caper's fifth season wrapped up most of the season's biggest plot points, but also left a huge cliff-hanger to hook fans in for the next season.

The episode kicks off right after news spread that Rebecca (Bridget Regan) had escaped prison - because it's really that easy, right? - and viewers caught a glimpse of the escaped curly-haired convict eavesdropping on Mozzie's clues about where the lost twin of the Hope Diamond is hidden. Rebecca leaves her mark at Neal's place by knocking Mozzie (Willie Garson) out and injecting him with a lethal dose of a mysterious and highly toxic poison that will kill him in a matter of hours. Rebecca has the antidote, but will only give it to Neal (Matt Bomer) once she has the diamond.

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Once Neal, Peter (Tim DeKay) and Mozzie figure out just where the diamond is hidden - conveniently somewhere in New York! - the trio head to the grounds to look for clues. Mozzie soon passes out from the injection, but thankfully, it's not before he gives Neal an important last clue. Diana (Marsha Thomason) and Jones (Sharif Atkins) quickly deduce what exactly Mozzie was injected with just as Neal and Peter find the diamond. All good, right? Wrong!

Rebecca goes back on her word and arrives at the diamond's hiding place to steal the gem and lock Neal and Peter in an old cell sans antidote. However, Neal and Peter kick the door down and Neal catches Rebecca in time to reveal he didn't really hand over the diamond. Which mean Rebecca is left with no choice but to surrender to the authorities. Don't even try to out-con the ultimate con man. Now, everything is really resolved, correct? Not so fast! This is right where things get juicy.

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Peter reveals that he made a call to his higher-up about how Neal deserves his freedom, especially after catching Rebecca. Although Peter makes it sound like a done deal - all that's needed is the approval of the FBI director and the Attorney General of the United States - he gets the startling news that the FBI director refuses to lift Neal's sentence precisely because he is so good at his job. (Sad, too, since Neal seems set on living a crime-free life so he can travel to foreign hot spots like Paris and Bangkok.) Peter's frustration over the news makes him decide not to move to Washington D.C., at least not yet. Apparently, getting the police anklet off his BFF is more important than a big job promotion or living in the same city as his wife.

Unaware of Peter's new resolve, Neal turns to Mozzie set on getting his freedom no matter what it takes. Mozzie promises to help, and walks away. Alone, Neal notices a man who has been following him and confronts him about his identity. "I'm about to become the last person on Earth who knows where you are," the man says right before he throws a bag over Neal's and throws him into the back of a van. The last shot is the driver of the van throwing Neal's broken anklet into the back of a random truck.

So who do you think kidnapped Neal? And why? Could Rebecca have escaped prison again? Is it maybe someone tied to her no-good runaway dad? Or maybe it's just someone new who wants Neal's impressive skills for their personal gain? Leave your theories below!

View original White Collar Recap: Did Neal Find the Diamond? Was Rebecca Captured? at TVGuide.com